I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 431 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Foot Soldiers who participated 

in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March in March of 1965, which served as a 

catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 21, 2015 

Ms. SEWELL of Alabama (for herself, Mrs. ROBY, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. 

BYRNE, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, and Mr. 

PALMER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Foot Soldiers 

who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights 

March in March of 1965, which served as a catalyst 

for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) March 7, 2015, will mark 50 years since the 

6 brave Foot Soldiers of the Voting Rights Movement 

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1 first attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery 

2 on ‘‘Bloody Sunday’’ in protest against the denial of 

3 their right to vote, and were brutally assaulted by 

4 Alabama state troopers. 

5 (2) Beginning in 1964, members of the Student 

6 Nonviolent Coordinating Committee attempted to 

7 register African-Americans to vote throughout the 

8 state of Alabama. 

9 (3) These efforts were designed to ensure that 

10 every American citizen would be able to exercise 

11 their constitutional right to vote and have their 

12 voices heard. 

13 (4) By December of 1964, many of these efforts 

14 remained unsuccessful. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 

15 working with leaders from the Student Nonviolent 

16 Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian 

17 Leadership Conference, began to organize protests 

18 throughout Alabama. 

19 (5) On March 7, 1965, over 500 voting rights 

20 marchers known as ‘‘Foot Soldiers’’ gathered on the 

21 Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in peace22 ful protest of the denial of their most sacred and 

23 constitutionally protected right—the right to vote. 

24 (6) Led by John Lewis of the Student Non25 violent Coordinating Committee and Rev. Hosea 

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1 Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Con2 ference, these Foot Soldiers began the march to3 wards the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, 

4 Alabama. 

5 (7) As the Foot Soldiers crossed the Edmund 

6 Pettus Bridge, they were confronted by a wall of 

7 Alabama state troopers who brutally attacked and 

8 beat them. 

9 (8) Americans across the country witnessed this 

10 tragic turn of events as news stations broadcasted 

11 the brutality on a day that would be later known as 

12 ‘‘Bloody Sunday.’’ 

13 (9) Two days later on Tuesday, March 9, 1965, 

14 nearly 2,500 Foot Soldiers led by Dr. Martin Luther 

15 King risked their lives once more and attempted a 

16 second peaceful march starting at the Edmund 

17 Pettus Bridge. This second attempted march was 

18 later known as ‘‘Turnaround Tuesday.’’ 

19 (10) Fearing for the safety of these Foot Sol20 diers who received no protection from federal or 

21 state authorities during this second march, Dr. King 

22 led the marchers to the base of the Edmund Pettus 

23 Bridge and stopped. Dr. King kneeled and offered a 

24 prayer of solidarity and walked back to the church. 

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1 (11) President Lyndon B. Johnson, inspired by 

2 the bravery and determination of these Foot Soldiers 

3 and the atrocities they endured, announced his plan 

4 for a voting rights bill aimed at securing the pre5 cious right to vote for all citizens during an address 

6 to Congress on March 15, 1965. 

7 (12) On March 17, 1965, one week after 

8 ‘‘Turnaround Tuesday’’, U.S. District Judge Frank 

9 M. Johnson ruled the Foot Soldiers had a First 

10 Amendment right to petition the government 

11 through peaceful protest, and ordered federal agents 

12 to provide full protection to the Foot Soldiers during 

13 the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March. 

14 (13) Judge Johnson’s decision overturned Ala15 bama Governor George Wallace’s prohibition on the 

16 protest due to public safety concerns. 

17 (14) On March 21, 1965, under the court 

18 order, the U.S. Army, the federalized Alabama Na19 tional Guard, and countless federal agents and mar20 shals escorted nearly 8,000 Foot Soldiers from the 

21 start of their heroic journey in Selma, Alabama to 

22 their safe arrival on the steps of the Alabama State 

23 Capitol Building on March 25, 1965. 

24 (15) The extraordinary bravery and sacrifice 

25 these Foot Soldiers displayed in pursuit of a peacemstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ful march from Selma to Montgomery brought na2 tional attention to the struggle for equal voting 

3 rights, and served as the catalyst for Congress to 

4 pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which President 

5 Johnson signed into law on August 6, 1965. 

6 (16) To commemorate the 50th anniversary of 

7 the Voting Rights Movement and the passage of the 

8 Voting Rights Act of 1965, it is befitting that Con9 gress bestow the highest civilian honor, the Congres10 sional Gold Medal, in 2015, to the Foot Soldiers 

11 who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround 

12 Tuesday or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting 

13 Rights March during March of 1965, which served 

14 as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

15 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

16 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

17 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem18 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

19 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 

20 medal of appropriate design to the Foot Soldiers who par21 ticipated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the 

22 final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March during 

23 March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting 

24 Rights Act of 1965. 

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1 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

2 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

3 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec4 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

5 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec6 retary. 

7 (c) AWARD OF MEDAL.—Following the award of the 

8 gold medal described in subsection (a), the medal shall be 

9 given to the Selma Interpretative Center in Selma, Ala10 bama, where it shall be available for display or temporary 

11 loan to be displayed elsewhere, as appropriate. 

12 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

13 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

14 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

15 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

16 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

17 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

18 and the cost of the gold medal. 

19 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

20 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu21 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

22 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

23 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

24 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

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1 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

2 items. 

Æ 

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